For Faculty & Staff

Contact

Search SF State News

Search SF State News

News Release

SF State professor discovers seven new luminescent mushroom
species

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 5, 2009 -- San Francisco State University Biology
Professor Dennis Desjardin has discovered seven new glow-in-the-dark mushroom
species, increasing the number of known luminescent fungi species from 64
to 71. Reported today in the journal Mycologia, the new finds include
two new species named after movements in Mozart's Requiem. The discoveries
also shed light on the evolution of luminescence, adding to the number of
known lineages in the fungi 'family tree' where luminescence has been reported.

Desjardin
and colleagues discovered the fungi in Belize, Brazil, Dominican Republic,
Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia and Puerto Rico. The discoveries include four species
new to science and three new reports of luminescence in known species. Three
quarters of glowing mushrooms, including the species described in the study,
belong to the Mycena genus, a group of mushrooms that
feed off and decompose organic matter as a source of nutrients to sustain
their growth.

"What interests us is that within Mycena, the luminescent
species come from 16 different lineages, which suggests that luminescence
evolved at a single point and some species later lost the ability to glow," said
Desjardin, lead author of the study. He believes that some fungi glow in
order to attract nocturnal animals that aid in the dispersal of the mushroom's
spores which are similar to seeds and are capable of growing into new organisms.

"It's pretty unusual to find this many luminescent species, typically
only two to five percent of the species we collect in the field glow," Desjardin
said. "I'm certain there are more out there."

The newly discovered fungi glow constantly, emitting a bright, yellowish-green
light, and are tiny, with caps smaller than one centimeter across.

Desjardin has named two of the new species Mycena luxaeterna (eternal
light) and Mycena luxperpetua (perpetual light), names inspired
by Mozart's Requiem and the fact that these mushrooms glow 24 hours a day.
To date, Desjardin has discovered more than 200 new fungi species and together
with these latest findings, has discovered nearly a quarter of all known
luminescent fungi.

"Luminescent Mycena: new and noteworthy species" was
published online in the journal Mycologia on Oct. 5 and will appear
in the March/April 2010 print issue. Co-authors include Brian A. Perry, former
graduate student at San Francisco State University and currently of the University
of Hawaii, D. Jean Lodge of the U.S. Forest Service, Cassius V. Stevani of
the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil and Eiji Nagasawa of the Tottori Mycological
Institute, Japan.
This research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the National
Geographic Society.

-###-

High resolution images of the luminescent mushroom species are available
from Elaine Bible in University Communications at ebible@sfsu.edu,
or (415) 405-3606.

A copy of the paper is available on request.

Professor Dennis Desjardin can be reached at (415) 338-2439 (office)
or ded@sfsu.edu